Any Road
by ILoveBeatleGeorge
Summary: Entry for Lost in the Lies' Ten-to-One challenge on HPFC. Series of one-shots so far. May change later. Whole story title is from the George Harrison song of the same name.
1. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

_**AN: My first one-shot in a series of one-shots, written for the ten-to-one challenge by Lost In The Lies on HPFC. I chose the Marauder era and my first character was Sirius Black with the prompt "choice". Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters. Title taken from idiom turned song.**_

**One-shot: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea**

"_Boy, I'll give you the chance to choose one last time, so which will it be __**Slytherin? Or Gryffindor?**__"_

* * *

><p>Sirius Black couldn't believe that he would be going to Hogwarts in less than a month. He was ecstatic; he could finally get away from his horrible family. Unfortunately, he was also scared of totally breaking the ties between himself and his whole family. Every day he would complain about his family and insist that he would do anything to not be in Slytherin, the house where all Blacks were sorted, but he wasn't incredibly sure if he could actually follow through with his words.<p>

Most of the month passed uneventfully but, a week before Sirius was set to leave, all chaos broke out. It all started with the arrival of his cousins; Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa.

* * *

><p>"Oh little Sirius is going to Hogwarts soon!" Bellatrix teased.<p>

"Actually, I am and I'm also happy so I don't see why you're teasing me, Bella." Sirius said as he glared at his cousin.

Both Bellatrix and Andromeda were done with school and had jobs and boys that they were supposed to marry. Narcissa was in her seventh year; she was currently courting Lucius Malfoy. Sirius could only stand Andromeda; he valued her as his only cousin with any sense and he was the only one who knew about her secret relationship with muggle-born; Ted Tonks. Bellatrix teased him all of the time while Narcissa was too engrossed in herself to notice anything that was going on but Andromeda actually cared so every time Sirius' cousins came around he always found time to sneak off and talk to her.

"Sirius" a woman, who looked just like Bellatrix but with softer features and slightly lighter hair and eyes, whispered as she drew near to the boy.

"Andy" he said, his eyes gleaming, "what's going on?"

"We need to go somewhere private to speak; I have something important to tell you," she said with worry evident on her face.

"We can sneak up to my room" Sirius offered.

"You're sure they won't find us?" she asked.

"I'm never sure, but if they do we leave and we live on the run; just you and I," Sirius told her with a lovely grin gracing his face.

"No, if they do find us I will leave and you will stay. After all, you're too young to be without a family." Andromeda insisted.

Sirius shook his head but began leading his cousin up the stairs anyway, both shrinking into the wall each time someone approached. Soon the two were at his room and Sirius opened the door; making sure to avoid making too much noise. As soon as the door was opened he slipped inside and motioned for Andromeda to follow him. He sat on his bed and patted the space next to him, nonverbally telling his cousin to take a seat. Both sat in silence for a while until Andromeda let out quite a large sigh.

"So, Andy, what was it that you needed to tell me?" Sirius asked still grinning at his ability to disappear without notice.

"Ted asked me to marry him!" she exclaimed a worried look now taking over her face.

"What?" Sirius clarified, shaking his head.

"He asked me to marry him. I have no idea what to do, please help me!" she said looking even more worried.

"Say yes," Sirius grinned, now feeling confident in his advice, "I mean you love him, yes?"

"Of course I love him," she said still looking worried.

"See, you didn't need me to help you; it's easy. You love him, so say yes." Sirius said seeming pleased with himself.

"Sirius, it's not so simple. You always make leaving this family sound so simple but you never do it. If it was that simple then don't you think I would've done it already? Or at least you would've actually left? I wish it was that simple but it's not, because if it was I'd be long gone."

"Andy…." Sirius started with a sigh "were you given the chance to get out of Slytherin?"

"What made you ask that?" she asked her eyebrows moving inward.

"It's just; I've heard that sometimes the hat can't decide which of two houses you'll fit the best in so he gives you a choice." Sirius sighed, only wishing that he'd be given that choice.

"Who told you that?"

"Believe it or not Cissy did," he laughed.

"How would she know?" Andromeda asked; confusion evident in her voice.

"I'm not supposed to tell anyone but the hat asked Malfoy. It was Hufflepuff or Slytherin according to what I overheard Cissy telling Bella. She only told me that the Hat lets some people choose because I overheard that conversation." Sirius told his cousin, a bold and mischievous look on his face.

"Oh I see."

"So did you get to choose? Did you _choose_ Slytherin?" he again asked his cousin.

This time she answered with a simple, "yes".

"You chose Slytherin?" he again asked this time with shock lacing his voice.

"Stop patronizing me, I was scared!" she exclaimed. "That's why I never told you, I knew that you'd do this. I was given the choice between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. I was afraid of being an outcast, of what the family would do to me and obviously I still am. I had seriously considered telling the hat Ravenclaw but I couldn't push myself to think it. I hope, should you be given the choice, you'll do better than I."

"Is it really that hard?"

"Yes, I know that it doesn't seem like it is but it is. Ted's proposal is even worse. I think I'm going to tell him yes though. I imagine this may be the last public meeting between us" she said sadness etched in her voice.

"I'll write you when I'm sorted, I promise."

"Just write to Ted's house. You know where that is?"

"Yes, I will. I love you, Andy. I promise that one day we'll both be off that blasted tapestry."

"If you say so, Sirius. I love you too" she said as she got up and left the room.

Later that week, August thirty-first, Andromeda's mother had come over to tell Sirius' parents that her middle daughter had eloped with a _mudblood_ and that she was no longer a part of their family. Sirius' mother blasted her name off of the family tree only an hour later.

* * *

><p>"Hi, I'm Sirius Black, may I sit here?" he asked the three boys already sitting in the compartment.<p>

"Only if you promise that you don't want to be in Slytherin" a boy with messy, jet-black hair said, a devious smile playing his lips.

"I'd never want to be in Slytherin," Sirius said, only truth in his voice.

* * *

><p>"Black, Sirius" the professor in emerald called from in front of the head table.<p>

Sirius walked slowly up to the stool, sighing as he sat down and the hat was placed on his head.

"_A Black? It's been a long time since I've gotten a Black. I suppose you'd want to be in Slytherin then; like all Blacks. I see that part in your head, you can be extremely cunning but you're not entirely power-thristy. You're rather loyal and brave. I'd have to think that Gryffindor would be an even better fit. So which will it be, Mr. Black, Slytherin or Gryffindor?"_

Sirius suddenly found himself stuck. He no longer knew what he wanted. It was true that he despised most of his family but he still definitely cared for Regulus, his younger brother, and he still wanted to watch out for him; if sorted into Gryffindor he would lose any chance of doing so. It was also true that he had told the messy-haired boy, James, on the train that he would never even think of being in Slytherin and here he was doing the opposite. He wanted to be in Gryffindor, but still he didn't. As he thought of the pros and cons the hat interrupted him.

"_Boy, I'll give you the chance to choose one last time, so which will it be __**Slytherin? Or Gryffindor?**__"_

"_Gryffindor, I choose Gryffindor."_ Sirius thought, now knowing that it was the right, and only real, choice.

"_**GRYFFINDOR!" **_ the hat yelled for the whole hall to hear.

Sirius jumped off of the stool and ran to the Gryffindor table, happy to finally join a real family.

The next day he wrote to Andromeda with only a few words; "_Congratulations on your marriage. PS I'm a Gryffindor!"_


	2. You Don't Know How It Feels

_**AN: Second one-shot of the whole. The character is Regulus Black and the prompt is "Living a Lie". The title is from the Tom Petty song of the same name. Disclaimer: I do not own the world or characters from Harry Potter; that's Jo's pleasure. **_

**One-shot #2- You Don't Know How It Feels**

"Regulus, we're having a- a um- meeting today," Snape told him as they passed each other in the corridor.

"I'm well aware Severus," he told the older boy with a glare added for effect.

With that the younger Black walked away leaving his brother's arch-nemesis staring at his departing shadow. Regulus cursed himself again and again, as he always did after these types of conversations, for getting himself into this situation.

"Black!" someone called from behind him. "Black, we need to discuss your homework."

"Professor McGonagall, I promise you'll have my essay by tomorrow. I'm not sure if my _brother_ told you but there are some family issues going on," he turned around and told the professor; making sure to stress the hate on the word Brother.

"No, Sirius hasn't told me anything. Care to elaborate Mr. Black?" McGonagall said, obviously trying to catch Regulus in his lie.

Regulus was fully aware of what McGonagall was trying to do and he was determined to not let her do it. He was used to lying and he wasn't going to screw up now.

"Yes, ma'am. You see, my father is extremely ill at the moment. We're not entirely sure how much time he has left; I figured that my _brother_ told you nothing of _our _father's illness. He left the house last year and hasn't been back since, though I know that mother informed him of the disease. I haven't been extremely focused on school lately; I'm just really worried for my father. I'm sorry and I promise to get the assignment in by tomorrow," he lied as he placed a sad expression on his face.

"I'm sorry about your father." McGonagall told Regulus, her face still showing her mistrust of Regulus and his stories but accepting it.

"Thank you, ma'am; I'm afraid I must be going now though." Regulus said holding back the grin that threatened to come through because of his successful lie.

Regulus walked back down to the Slytherin common and sat in a chair working on his Transfiguration essay. Eventually the rest of the Death Eaters came around and the meeting began, Snape and Avery taking the lead. Regulus didn't feel nearly as excited about the meeting as he was with the last few. He just had a feeling that something wasn't quite right. The meeting concluded and the elder boys were invited to attend a real meeting, with the Dark Lord, over Christmas break. Regulus declined the offer, again using the excuse that his father was fatally ill; which was not a complete lie though Regulus didn't really care too much about his father anymore.

Months past and Regulus became more and more disinterested in the Death Eaters, only attending the meetings to assure the protection of his life. In June his brother ended his last year at Hogwarts and, attempting to part on better terms, Regulus approached him on the train.

"Sirius!" Regulus called to his brother, only a mere meter in front of him.

Sirius stopped and looked back, surveyed his brother's full height with his eyes and turned away.

"Sirius, please," Regulus begged.

Sirius turned around, sighed, and walked towards Regulus. He stared at his brother's face with a stone cold frown.

"What. Do. You. Want.?" he asked his brother.

"Sirius, I'm really…. I'm really…. I'm sorry." Regulus said searching for the right words.

"Why?" Sirius asked. "You're not the traitor, that's me. Little Reggie has nothing to be sorry for, that's all Sirius' job because everything is Sirius' fault!"

"I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you," Regulus told him "I sincerely regret that the most now."

"Lies! You're nothing but a liar, Regulus. I know the way you work; don't try to fool me."

On that Sirius turned and left his brother standing in his wake, jaw opened wide and eyes huge. Regulus couldn't believe that when he tried to tell the truth everyone accused him of lying but when he lies they accepted it without a second thought. Regulus no longer cared about what happened to him, he had decided to be brave and a rebel like Sirius had always told him to be; though he would be doing it all secretly. He already had better luck with lies than he had with the truth, so he figured why not jump into a life without truth.

* * *

><p>"Yes, my Lord, I'm sure that Kreacher would not only be more than willing but also the perfect elf for the job. Let me just go home and fetch him."<p>

Regulus, now a month out of school, left the clearing where the Dark Lord was having his current meeting. He didn't really want to sacrifice his house elf; Kreacher was the only one who knew the truth about everything that Regulus did, and was. Unfortunately, Regulus was still set on proving to Sirius that he wasn't a coward and he knew the only way to do so was by defeating the Dark Lord; if he lost Kreacher in the process he would have to deal with it.

"Kreacher!" Regulus called as he entered the house, trying to find the elf.

"What would Master Regulus like today?" an ugly creature asked as he popped in front of Regulus.

"You need to come with me, Kreacher. The Dark Lord requested your service and…"

Before he could finish his mother lumbered down the stairs and shouted his name.

"Yes, mother?" Regulus answered, disappointed that his mother was holding him up at such a vital time but keeping cool, as usual.

"Why don't you come and visit more? I've been very lonely since your father passed, you know."

"I'm sorry mother," he lied "I've been quite busy with the Dark Lord. I'm also afraid I must take Kreacher for a while now, he was specially requested by the Dark Lord."

"I'm so proud of you and I'm sure that your father would've been as well," his mother beamed.

"Thank you, mother, but I'm afraid I must be going now though; I've already been held up enough."

Regulus grabbed the house elf and disappearated before his mother could say any more, he was tired of her. He brought Kreacher to the Dark Lord; who grabbed Kreacher and left. Regulus had no idea where they had gone but he was disappointed that he wasn't included; he was originally sure that he would've been allowed to come too. With nothing better to do Regulus left and went back to his flat to wait for further instructions.

Days went by and still Regulus heard nothing from the Dark Lord or Kreacher until, out of the blue, the house elf landed in his bedroom.

"Master Regulus, it was horrible" the elf stuttered.

"What happened?" Regulus asked, his voice ridden with fear, guilt, and confusion.

"He took Kreacher to a cave and, Master Regulus, Kreacher was so scared. He made Kreacher drink something and it made Kreacher feel so bad. He refilled the basin that he had made Kreacher drink but he put something in the bottom before putting the potion back in. He then left Kreacher to die there." Kreacher said, shaking as he spoke.

"How did you get back then, Kreacher?" Regulus asked, scared of what had happened but happy that his family house elf made it back.

"House elf magic, Master Regulus."

"Can you take me there, Kreacher? I think I know what's in that basin." Regulus asked gulping as he spoke, afraid that he was right.

"Kreacher will do anything that Master Regulus tells him to do."

"Right, of course" Regulus sighed.

* * *

><p>The plan was laid out in four days. Regulus and Kreacher were to enter the cave together; Kreacher would guide Regulus into the interior cave. Once they reached the basin Regulus would drink the potion and Kreacher would make sure to get out with the object that was being kept there. They would place a decoy in the basin and Regulus would refill the potion. If Regulus didn't make it, Kreacher was to destroy the object in any way possible.<p>

The day came that the plan was to be put in action, and it went as it was supposed to; until Regulus reached into the water to try to quench the thirst brought about by the potion. A hand reached up and grabbed his wrist; he yelled to Kreacher to go home with the locket and destroy it. He told him to tell his mother that he was gone. As soon as he heard the house elf's crack he let himself be pulled down into the waters. The last thing that Regulus Arcturus Black thought about was life; specifically that his life was only a life of lies and, had he been able to relive, he would've listened to Sirius. Had he been able to relive life than it would've been a life of truth, he would have never been living a lie, not like now.


	3. Wreck of the Hesperus

_**Third installment for my entry to the Ten-to-One challenge. My character was Lily Evans and my prompt was "notice". The title of this one-shot is from the British slang term for "disheveled appearance" but I really stole it from the George Harrison song of the same name. Disclaimer: I own neither the Harry Potter characters nor the world.**_

**3****rd**** one-shot: Wreck of the Hesperus**

"Potter, don't pull my hair!" she screamed at the top of her lungs at the messy haired boy tugging at her ponytail.

"Make me, Evans!" he exclaimed.

"Professor McGonagall!" she shouted, attracting the attention of the teacher at front of the classroom.

"Yes, Miss. Evans?" the professor asked.

"Potter's been pulling my hair," the young girl said.

"Has he?" she asked, which Lily answered with a nod. "Then I suppose he'll have to be given a detention."

Professor McGonagall walked back to her desk, wrote something on a parchment, and then handed it to the boy.

"Nice job, Evans, you got me a detention notice!" the boy sneered.

"No, you got the notice yourself Potter," she told him.

* * *

><p>"You know, Lils that was my first detention" James laughed, grinning at the memory his girlfriend had brought up. It had been their first Transfiguration class of their first year and James figured out that he could push Lily's buttons rather easily; now they were a couple.<p>

"I know, maybe I was the reason you became such a trouble maker!" she gasped.

"I'm sure. There's no way they had anything to do with it," he said, motioning at three other boys by the lake as he spoke.

"No, they're perfect little angels; especially Sirius," she agreed.

"What am I?" the boy with long, black hair asked as he came over and sat next to James; the other two following him.

"Only the most handsome, intelligent god ever," Lily told him with a straight face.

"I knew you'd say that eventually, when are you leaving Prongs for me?" he asked her, a devilish grin upon his face.

"Hey!" James exclaimed. "Get away from my girl, Padfoot; she's off-limits!"

"Sorry, Jamesy, I forgot," Sirius said, the grin remaining on his face as he stood again.

"Lily" the sandy haired boy said, "you and I have patrol of the dungeons tonight and James is patrolling the Astronomy tower with the seventh year Ravenclaw girl prefect. If you want I'll trade."

"That would be sweet of you, Remus" Lily smiled before asking, "Isn't she the horribly unbearably annoying one?"

"Yeah but it's all right, I know how to handle her since I was always paired with her last year. I'll see you lot later; I have to do my Potions essay and go to Slughorn for tutoring."

"Poor Moony," Sirius said leaning up against the tree as Remus walked away.

"Why so much pity for Moony all of a sudden, Padfoot?" James asked with a laugh.

"It's just that he's better than us in everything except Potions…"

"And Transfiguration" James added.

"Yeah but he's just as good as us there," Sirius argued. Continuing his original thought he said, "Anyway so his only bad subject is Potions and he's so bad at it that he requires tutoring! I would hate to be tutored in anything."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. But why didn't he drop it after OWLs then?" James asked, looking puzzled.

"Minnie told him that he better just take everything so he's prepared for any job that anyone would offer him."

"Oh, right, the… ummm… prejudice." James said a frown appearing where a grin usually resided.

"Yeah, the prejudice." Sirius sighed.

"Padfoot, help!" the smallest boy in the group cried as he was pulled into the lake by a giant squid.

"Shit" Sirius cursed, "Seems like Wormtail got himself into a little mess. I'll see you later then, Prongs."

Sirius ran towards the lake and tried to convince the squid to put Peter back on dry land. James and Lily laughed but turned away from him; both deciding that it was best if they went back inside and got ready for their patrol later on. They held hands as they walked back to the castle laughing at things that James had done to try to win Lily's heart in the various places around the grounds. When they reached the castle they parted with a kiss; James going to the common room and Lily to the library.

Upon reaching the library she found Remus laughing at something. She sat down next to him and looked at the book he had in front of him, it was Potions.

"It doesn't seem like you're doing your essay, Remus" she said grinning.

"I got distracted," he sighed.

"By what?" she asked the smile only growing wider.

"Those kids" he gestured out the window, "they remind me of us; James, Peter, Sirius, and I, when we were second and third years." He sighed and looked away from the kids; back to his essay.

"You miss it, don't you?" Lily asked a small frown replacing the grin.

"Yes, it was so much… easier. I still had my problem, but I was here and I wasn't going anywhere. I didn't have to worry about getting a job and trying to keep a home."

Lily opened her mouth to say something to Remus but he continued. "I mean, I understand that everyone stresses about leaving the house and school; even Sirius is worried, but at least they all have someone who will be willing to hire them. I'm worried, Lily, and I don't know what to do." He sighed once again.

"Someone will want to hire you, Remus. Someone's not going to care about your problem and they'll hire you despite it."

"You're far too optimistic, Lily. I'm afraid that won't be the case though; even if they don't care about my problem. Someone else who does the job will find out and will complain to whoever hired me; they'll have no choice but to fire me."

"Why? They have no reason to fire you because some ignorant ass complained!"

"I'm glad you feel that way but, unfortunately, that's not how it works. You see, those who are the highest up are always prejudice and if the person who hired me didn't listen to the employee than said employee would complain to someone even higher and then not only would I be fired, the person who hired me would be as well."

"But…"

"Sorry, Lily, but I'll just have to deal with it; it's okay. I really must get this essay to Slughorn now, I'll see you later." Remus said getting up as he gathered his things.

Lily left the library and wandered up to the Gryffindor common room. As she entered she found James and Sirius sitting on the coach with a shaking Peter across from them. Peter was still wet; it seemed, from his ordeal with the giant squid. Lily sat down next to James and rested her head on his arm.

"Hey, Lily-flower, what's the matter?" James asked looking at his girlfriend.

"Nothing, I mean it's okay. I was just thinking that we could, possibly, start our patrol early today" she told him, begging with her eyes.

"Of course, we can go to the Astronomy Tower right away."

* * *

><p>"Remus, this is not where we're supposed to be patrolling!" the girl complained.<p>

"I'm aware, but Lily and James weren't in the common room when I got back and I want to make sure that they're alright" Remus said, rolling his eyes at Jane's stupidity.

"You care more about your stupid friends than your badge; and even worse, my badge" Jane scoffed.

"Yes I do. I suppose you wouldn't understand because, from what I've heard, you have no friends." Remus retorted.

"I'm going back to the dungeons, when you get caught don't come crying to me!" she yelled, storming away.

"Why would I ever cry to her?" Remus wondered aloud and continued on his search for Lily and James.

* * *

><p>"Lils, I thought you said that you weren't ready" James said his eyes wide at his girlfriend's idea.<p>

"I changed my mind, I am ready. Please James" she told him using her most convincing 'puppy-dog eyes'.

"Okay, but if we get caught you're taking the blame," James told her, his eyes mischievous.

* * *

><p>"Lily! James!" Remus called as he roamed the tower, defeat in his face.<p>

It was midnight and he had been searching the school since nine. While he had found many couples in the closets; doing everything from kissing to the dirty deed, and while one of the dirty deed couples had included Sirius, he hadn't seen any sign of James or Lily.

He stopped, suddenly, as he remembered a secret hole, behind the tapestry on the stairs, that he and James had found when they wandered the wrong way on their way to Astronomy in first year. He ran up the stairs towards the tapestry and took a deep breath before violently throwing back the tapestry.

In the cutout was a naked Lily entangled with, an equally naked, James. Remus screamed when he realized who they were and tugged the tapestry back in place.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to give you both detentions," he informed the tapestry. "Not only for having sex behind a tapestry but also for ignoring your duties as Head Boy and Girl, just be thankful that I caught you and not McGonagall because I'm only going to write you up for ignoring your duties."

A "Thank you, Remus" and a "Thanks, Moony" was heard from behind the tapestry along with ruffling sounds as both teenagers re-dressed. After a minute they both immerged; looking pleased but also rattled.

"Merlin, you two look like the goddamned Wreck of the Hesperus!" Remus exclaimed with a smile at his friends.

"Thanks, Moony, you're such a doll," James, hair ten times messier than usual, joked.

Remus laughed and then looked at his notice book. He tore off the two pieces he had written on and handed them to the Head Boy and Girl.

"So, may I ask whose idea was this?" Remus asked with a laugh.

"Actually, mate, it was Lily's," James laughed.

"The perfect Lily Evans suggested having sex behind a tapestry!" Remus exclaimed. "This is better to see than a Beatles reunion would be!"

"Shut up," Lily said her cheeks going red.

"And this is your first detention, yes?" Remus asked a smile forming.

"Yes, in fact it's the first behavior notice I've ever received at all," she said.

"Was James worth it?" Remus asked.

"He was, and even more," she blushed.


	4. Misunderstanding All You See

_**AN: Fourth prompt written for the ten-to-one challenge by Lost In The Lies on HPFC. This character is James and the prompt was "eyes closed". This one's an AU; you'll see how and why by the end. The timeline is per Jo, Marauders in school fall 1971- spring 1978. I'm sorry about the time in between the last chapter and this one; I became quite busy. The title (and the first line) is taken from the song Strawberry Fields Forever (Lennon/McCartney) so I obviously don't own that. I also don't own the Harry Potter world, or characters. **_

**Misunderstanding All You See**

"_Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see. It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out. It doesn't matter much to me."_

"Evans!" a dark-haired boy, of about fourteen, called to a red-haired girl, of about the same age.

"What do you want, Potter?" she asked contempt ringing through her voice.

"Will you go out with me?" he asked grinning lopsidedly.

"No" the girl said, walking away.

The boy shrugged and walked off towards his friends, already ready to try again tomorrow; as he did every day.

"James, do you think, possibly, that the method you're using to attempt to go out with Lily is… flawed?" one of the boy's friends asked.

"No, how is it flawed, Remus?" James asked, arrogant grin even wider. "Merlin, you don't even know!" he exclaimed, allowing his friend no time to answer him.

Remus shook his head and slowed his pace down; he began to walk three paces behind his friends, often kicking rocks as he went. James looked back at Remus but decided that nothing was truly wrong so he went back to joking around with his dark-haired friend. As the two boys continued their jocular behavior the last boy, a chubby blonde boy, laughed at them and looked at them as though they were gods.

"So, Sirius, do you think Lily will ever accept me?" James asked the dark boy; evidently his best friend out of the three.

"Maybe" Sirius said, wiping his hand across his lips before staring at a tree in the distance.

"Why did you say maybe?" James asked with obvious annoyance in his voice.

"Well, it just doesn't seem like it's been working, that's it" Sirius said casting his eyes downward.

"It will work!" James yelled storming away from his friends; though the blond one ran and followed him.

Remus caught up to Sirius and they both watched James' figure as it pushed its way past other students and entered the castle.

"Sirius, I thought you were bad but James is getting unbearable" Remus complained.

"I know, I mean hey!" Sirius exclaimed, false pride on his face, "But you're right he's so naive, or something, the way he thinks that things will just work out in his favor."

"It's like he never opens his eyes" Remus added, shaking his head.

"What can we do to help him, though?" Sirius asked with concern for James evident on his handsome face.

"We let him figure it out" Remus told Sirius nothing but determination on his face.

"Okay," Sirius agreed before shaking his head asking, "Wait, what are we doing?"

"He has to open his eyes," Remus said acting as though that was explanation enough.

"Remus, I have no idea what you mean!" Sirius exclaimed as his eyes grew big in confusion.

"Okay so James misunderstands everything, right?" Remus asked.

Sirius nodded and motioned to Remus to continue.

"So, if he keeps pestering her, she'll keep saying no" Remus said as Sirius nodded, still unsure of where Remus was going. "So he's going to keep thinking that she'll eventually say yes" Sirius nodded again, thinking that Remus was now making no sense. "So when she does say yes, because we all know that she really is head over heels for him, what will he think?"

"He's not that stupid, Remus" Sirius insisted.

"But it'll take him a while to notice which will provide a good laugh. We don't want to ruin his life, Siri!" Remus said, smiling.

"That's the worst plan ever, especially from you!" Sirius exclaimed before whispering, "Are you going to visit your mother soon, Remmy?"

"Yes, I suppose my brains go away as the date nears closer" Remus sighed. "I'm sorry I wasted your time."

"Hey, you're one of my best friends there's no time wasted with you," Sirius grinned.

The two walked back to the castle, laughing all the way about what a horrible idea Remus had and how it accomplished nothing in the end. Once they reached the inside of the castle the two friends parted; Remus going to the library and Sirius to the Gryffindor common room.

_Christmas Day 1977 _

"James! Stop!" she commanded.

"Lily-flower, you know you like it!" he said as he tickled his girlfriend.

"James, stop!" his friend yelled from across the room.

"Why, Padfoot?" James asked though his tickling had already slowed.

"Moony's already getting sick so I thought you and I could haul him to Pomfrey so he doesn't die" Sirius sneered at his best friend.

"Okay Padfoot, all you had to do was ask!" James shouted at his friend.

"Please help, James" Sirius sighed.

James nodded and the two boys walked up to their dorm where Remus was sprawled across his bed, puking into a bucket on the right side. Sirius looked sadly at James; who returned the gesture.

"We better get him out of here" James said.

"Yeah before he upchucks his insides" Sirius agreed.

The two boys, one on both sides of Remus, lifted him and hauled him out the door and down the stairs. When they reached the common room they put Remus down on the chair, stopping to catch their breath.

"Don't… remember… him… being… so…. heavy" James huffed.

"Last time… we… carried him… was second… year… when he… passed out… the day… we found… out" Sirius said with equally strained breathing.

"Oh yeah" James said finally regaining his breathing.

"Prongs?" Sirius sighed.

"What? Is he dying?" James asked quickly looking over to Remus who was still pale as a sheet, but also still very much alive.

"No but we're stupid" Sirius laughed.

"Why?" James asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Because we can do magic" Sirius said with a grin.

James opened his mouth to respond before it turned into an 'o' and he cast his eyes down. He started to laugh, looking back up to Sirius with a grin. Sirius levitated Remus and held him out in front of the two of them. They left the common room and headed towards the Hospital Wing; Sirius levitating Remus and James making sure that Sirius was going the right way and wasn't hitting Remus off anything.

They reached the Wing and left Remus in the care of Madam Pomfrey, the school's nurse, who thanked them for bringing Remus to her and told them he would be having a hard night in the shack.

"Hopefully he'll be alright for our plans" James said as they left the Wing.

"I don't know maybe we should wait until next month, then Peter will be here too and Remus won't be so sick" Sirius worried.

"When did you become so responsible?" James asked his friend with a small, slightly sad smile.

Sirius just laughed and the two took the long way to the Common Room, like they had always done when they were younger.

That night they did join Remus but they didn't dare to leave the Shack and risk his sickness becoming worse. The boys decided the next day that, while they did very little, it was the best full moon they had ever spent together.

_June 18, 1979_

"Do you, Lily Evans, take James Potter as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do" she said tearfully.

"I now pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss the bride"

James leaned into his wife and gave her a long, sweet kiss which was answered with a wolf-whistle from his best friend. He grinned to where his three best friends were sitting and grinned; they all returned the gesture.

A week later, at his and Lily's house in Godric's Hollow, James still couldn't believe that he was old enough to be married, let alone the fact that he was. Ever since he was in third or fourth year he felt like his life was passing by him while he sat there with his eyes closed and he still had that feeling, but he was going to break it. He needed to remember every moment about his life with Lily because the war was becoming worse and, being involved in the Order, something could happen to either, or both, of them. He was not going to risk losing her and barely comprehending his time with her so he began to pay attention to details and do more things with Lily, and even his friends. He opened his eyes, for a while at least.

_July 31, 1980_

James sat on the hospital bed looking down at his newborn son. They had named him Harry and James still couldn't believe that he was his, his and Lily's. At the moment he didn't even care that Harry fit that blasted prophecy, Albus had told them about, by a whole day; all he cared about was his son. He looked down at his wife, sleeping on the bed, and thought that her beauty was only intensified when she slept. Harry began to cry and James soothed him quietly, looking down into his son's green eyes; so much like his beautiful wife's.

_October 31, 1981_

She was gone.

She had just left him.

Him and Harry.

They were alone.

Peter had betrayed them.

James couldn't believe that he would never see his wife again, hear her laugh, feel her soft touch, taste her lips on his, or smell her after she put on her favorite perfume before they went out. He couldn't believe that she could leave him and Harry, all alone. Then he remembered it wasn't her fault; it was Peter's. Of course the Dark Lord was the one who had killed her and cursed Harry, but if Peter hadn't told him where they were she would still be here. He realized that he would have to stop staring at her body as he cradled Harry and actually tell Albus what was going on. He realized that Sirius still thought Remus was the traitor and everyone still thought that Sirius was the Secret Keeper. The only thing that kept him from falling at Lily's body and crying, again, was the thought of punishing Peter and protecting Harry.

He had turned Peter in to Albus; who had personally brought him to the aurors. He had moved into Sirius' flat; along with Remus who really couldn't afford his own and they helped him with grieving, and with Harry. Every night James relived Lily's death and he wished, for the first time since he opened his eyes, that he had continued to be naïve and lived with his eyes closed but he never closed them again. He realized that, now, he was watching Harry grow for Lily too and he wasn't going to miss a moment.


End file.
